Watashi no Oniisan
by sunshinelexi
Summary: ItaSaku. Sakura stumbles upon a man lying on the side of the road and nurses him back to health. Unbeknownst to her, he is none other than her love's nemesis- Itachi Uchiha! Itachi doesn't want to give her his name, so he asks her to call him "Oniisan."
1. hunger

Despite the title, this is ItaSAKU, not Uchihacest. I promise =D.

I would like to thank whomever discovered that you can use a line of OOOOO as a way to subdivide your story in Word that actually gets carried over to this site.

Ch 1: hunger

Hidan was not happy. He rummaged through the cupboard in the combination kitchen/living room area of the Akatsuki's latest hideout, but he couldn't find anything to eat that wasn't spoiled, rotten, or past its expiration date. Meanwhile, his stomach was growling like a tortured animal.

Hidan cast his eyes about the room and found the other Akatsuki members doing nothing, as usual.

"I'm hungry," he announced. "Kakuzu, go buy some food."

"No. Food here is expensive."

"Eh, you're just cheap," Hidan complained.

"What did you say?" Kakuzu made to rise from his chair.

"Nevermind," Hidan said quickly. "I'll make Deidara do it."

"I ain't going anywhere, un," said Deidara. "I'm in the midst of creating a masterpiece." He took a piece of clay from the pouch at his hip and inserted it into the mouth in his right hand. After his hand chewed the piece of clay to the proper consistency, Deidara fashioned it into the shape of a wing and attached it to the hummingbird-shaped creature he was working on. As soon as the hummingbird was finished, it promptly flew into the wall and produced an explosion that shook the dwelling to its foundations.

Sasori entered the room through the hole in the wall, raising his singed eyebrows. "You call that a masterpiece? I call it a hole."

"If all you're going to do is criticize, why don't you buy Hidan some food, un?" snapped Deidara.

"A little hunger hones the senses and sharpens the mind," replied Sasori.

Hidan threw an expired milk carton at him. "What the hell? You don't need to eat."

"Eh?"

"Aren't you a puppet?" Hidan demanded. When everyone stared at him, he pointed at Sasori and said, "He's a freaking puppet!"

"Well, if you're so hungry, why don't you pray to your Lord Jashin for some food?" Sasori retorted.

Hidan reached for his scythe. "_Teme_-"

Itachi rose from his seat by the window. Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Deidara watched him warily. "I'll go. _Shitsureshimasu_."

He threw open the door and left the hideout.

Deidara shivered. "Itachi-san is scary, un?"

OOOOOOO

Itachi stepped out into the sunshine and took a deep breath of fresh air, savoring the silence. He realized that he had forgotten his Akatsuki cloak and forehead protector, but he didn't care. Sometimes, he had to get away from his fellow Akatsuki members. He hated how they constantly fought over frivolous things. Itachi accepted that fighting was a necessary part of his life as a shinobi, but he took no pleasure in it and he could not understand those who did.

The Akatsuki were currently stationed outside the hidden cloud, a small village that seemed perpetually torn apart by the chaos of war. As he picked his way through the rubble that was all that remained of the outer two-thirds of the village, Itachi couldn't help but think that there had to be a better way for people to settle their differences.

_Why do we do it?_ he wondered. _Why do we wage wars when we know that all they will bring us is more pain and suffering?_

The inner third of the village was packed with orphans and refugees. They shuffled around aimlessly with dispirited looks in their eyes. They had nothing to do all day and no money for food. Most of them just waited to die. If they were lucky, they would be taken to the hospital at the top of the hill, where they would at least receive one meal a day.

The hidden cloud's marketplace was located in the center of this throng, operated by and serving the few who had been lucky enough to escape the loss of their homes and livelihoods. Many of the shopkeepers kept large sticks by the entrances to their shops, which they used to "discourage" beggars and thieves. They were polite enough to Itachi though, once they realized that he had money.

No sooner had Itachi finished his shopping than a little boy came up to him, clutching his pant leg and staring hungrily at his groceries.

Itachi handed him a small piece of bread.

The boy grabbed the bread and immediately ran over to a young man who was propped up against one of the buildings. The man was so gaunt his ribs stood out clearly against his flesh, and he appeared too weak to stand on his own.

The boy shook him to get his attention then held out the piece of bread.

"_Hayate-niisan, tabete_."

The man smiled and patted the boy on the head.

"_Arigatou_, Tonbei-chan."

Itachi stood still as the memories crashed over him. How many times had he patted Sasuke on the head like that and seen the boy's sweet smile? The jealousy and the longing were intolerable.

Itachi stumbled and fell to his knees, coughing uncontrollably. His basket of groceries fell to the ground. The food he had bought spilled into the street and was immediately set upon by a dozen hungry urchins, but Itachi hardly noticed.

_I wish I were dead_.

Itachi struggled to his feet but was immediately hit by a wave of vertigo that forced him back to the ground. He coughed into his hand and was terrified to see that his palm was covered in blood. When unconsciousness claimed him, he welcomed the darkness like an old friend.

OOOOOOO

Meanwhile, Tonbei felt guilty that he hadn't thanked the nice man for the piece of bread. His mother would have scolded him if she were still alive. He looked around and eventually found him slumped on the ground at the next street corner. At first, he thought it was funny to see a grown man sleeping in the street. Then he saw the blood. And, no matter how many times he shook him, the man didn't wake up.

OOOOOOO

Japanese phrase guide (Chapter 1):

_Teme_- generic term of insult

_Shitsureshimasu_- a polite way to take one's leave

_Oniisan, niisan_- older brother

_Tabete_- eat

_Arigatou_- thank you

***Important: Please forget the hidden cloud village that you know from the filler or whatever. I needed some "blank slate village" that we didn't learn too much about in the show for me to create as a place where Sakura and Itachi meet, but honestly, I couldn't think of any good original village names, so I used the hidden cloud, which at least is not one of the main villages in the show. This will be my only canon error, or at least the most major xD. If anyone wants to suggest another village name that I like, I will use it for my original village.

Also, if you like this story, please read my HidaSaku AU _Peer to Peer_. The premise may sound stupid, but I promise that it is a great story, which I like much better than this one.


	2. rescue

Ch 2: rescue

Sakura Haruno was exhausted. She had just finished a twelve-hour shift at the local hospital, and was looking forward to collapsing onto her futon. In the three months she had been in the hidden cloud village, she had discovered that nursing famine victims back to health was rewarding, yet physically and emotionally draining work. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.

Sakura was pulled out of her reverie by a sharp tug on her skirt. She looked down to see Nakashita Tonbei, a little boy she had treated for pneumonia a few weeks earlier. The pale, listless boy from that time had been replaced with the mischievous, energetic imp before her. His small brown eyes were lively and his cheeks were flushed. Seeing him alive and well served as a welcome reminder that sometimes her job _was _worth the effort.

"Sakura-neesan! Come quick, Sakura-neesan!"

On second thought, he seemed distressed.

"_Doshita, Tonbei-chan_?" Sakura asked, concerned.

Tonbei took her hand and dragged her down the street until he reached a tall man who was slumped against the corner of a house. He pointed to the man and said, "That person gave me some bread for niisan, but then he fell down and started coughing up blood. No matter what I do, he won't wake up."

Sakura knelt down beside the man and frowned. The caked blood at his mouth attested to the truth of Tonbei's words.

She patted the boy on the head. "You're a good boy, Tonbei-chan. You did the right thing by coming to me."

Tonbei looked up at her anxiously. "Can you fix him, Sakura-neesan? Like you fixed me?"

"I'll try my best," Sakura said, smiling encouragingly for Tonbei. Inwardly, she wasn't so sure. She encountered deprivation-related diseases every day, but starving people didn't usually cough up blood. That was unusual.

After Tonbei had gone back to his brother, Sakura lifted the man. He was nearly twice her size and probably weighed a hundred and fifty pounds, but Sakura cradled him in her arms as if he were a baby.

Sakura knew she ought to take him to the hospital, but she didn't think she could face the place again so soon. Besides, her house was much closer. She lived in a housing unit that had been built by the hidden cloud as part of a construction project to employ the villagers and to provide an incentive to attract aid from foreign villages. Privately, Sakura thought that they needed all the incentives they could get.

She took the man to her bedroom and laid him down on her futon. As she unpacked her medical supplies, she got her first good look at him. He had long, silky grey-black hair and a calm-looking face with a small nose and a soft mouth. His most interesting feature was the pair of deep facial lines that extended from his nose to his cheeks. She ran a finger over the lines, thinking deeply. His face was oddly familiar. She felt as though she had seen him before, but she couldn't remember where. She shook off the sensation and proceeded to examine him.

She ran her hands over his body, content to discover that he didn't have any broken bones or sprains. She lifted up his shirt to reveal his bare chest. It was smooth and muscular, with no sign of bruising. She lay her head on his chest and listened to the comforting beat of his heart. His blood pressure and heart rate were a little low, but nothing out of the "normal" range.

He wasn't overweight, but nor was he emaciated. His teeth evidenced none of the rotting she observed in famine victims, and his skin had the full, smooth luster of the well fed. She discovered minor bruising on his shoulder and his hip, but no external injuries to explain why he would have collapsed in the middle of the street. She would have to send chakra through his body to visualize his internal organs.

_Just my luck_, Sakura thought. _He probably has a rare illness that's beyond my ability to treat_.

The longer she worked on him, the more Sakura came to appreciate that she had never treated a patient quite like him before. He was a medical enigma. His body was young and strong, but he suffered from several symptoms peculiar to old age. His lungs were engorged and filled with fluid, as though he were suffering from chronic tuberculosis and/or heart disease. Strangest of all was the mass of broken and scarred tissue surrounding the ocular nerve. For the life of her, Sakura could not think of any injury or disease that could produce a pattern of damage like she observed in this man. She gradually soothed his lung tissue and diverted the excess fluids to his heart, but she could make no progress on the ocular nerve. After a few hours passed, she was satisfied that she had done everything she could. All the healing she had done that day had taken its toll on her body, and she settled into a deep sleep.

OOOOOOO

Itachi awoke several hours later. The first thing he noticed was a peculiar pressure on his chest. Strange as it seemed, a young woman with pink hair was resting her head against his chest. Itachi cast his eyes about for something to identify her and lit upon the forehead protector that marked her as a kunoichi from Konoha.

_Not good_.He lifted his hand with the intention of suffocating her in her sleep, but then reconsidered.

_She looks young. It's possible she doesn't know about me…_ He frowned._ No, she definitely doesn't know, or she would have killed me while I was unconscious_._ At the very least, she wouldn't be sleeping on top of me so defenselessly_.

The thought comforted Itachi. He realized that he hadn't worn anything that would identify him as a missing-nin or a member of the Akatsuki. He was glad he hadn't brought his cloak or forehead protector, because he didn't want to have to kill the girl. Even though he had plenty of experience, killing was not something that came easily to Itachi. He had too many souls already on his conscience.

He cast his eyes about the room and discovered that he was lying on a futon in a traditional Japanese bedroom, with a wooden floor and paper screens subdividing it from the other rooms of the house. He raised himself to his elbows to get a better view of his surroundings, but his movement woke the girl.

Sakura blinked and sat up quickly. She blushed, embarrassed that she had fallen asleep on top of the handsome stranger, who seemed to be regarding her with calm curiosity.

"I see you're awake. Are you feeling better?" she asked, striving to sound at least semi-professional.

He was quiet for so long, she didn't think he was going to answer. But then…

"_Hai._ _Arigatou._"

"_Dou itashi mashite_."

The silence stretched on for several minutes. Sakura could hear the higurashi chirping outside.

"You're a man of few words, aren't you _oniisan_?" Sakura asked, giggling nervously. "_Onamae wa_?"

Itachi considered. If he told her his name, she would panic, certainly. Possibly even try to kill him. He would probably end up killing her, even if he didn't mean to. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to lie to her. So he said nothing.

Sakura sighed, exasperated. "I examined you, so I know there's nothing wrong with your hearing!"

Once again, he didn't reply. She seemed very young and impulsive. He was confident that he could outwait her.

"You say you examined me…" he said slowly. "Are you a medic?"

Sakura blushed again, furious with herself. _Have a little more dignity_, she scolded herself. _Just because he's good looking, you're acting like a twelve-year-old with her first crush_.

"Yes," she said firmly. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm a medical ninja from the hidden leaf."

"Were you able to heal me?"

She hesitated. "I healed your external injuries and temporarily reversed the damage to your circulatory system, but there wasn't much I could do about the ocular nerve. I think you should go to the hospital immediately," she said, slipping an arm under him in an attempt to prop him up into a sitting position.

"I'm fine. I don't need a hospital."

She was so surprised she nearly dropped him. "Eh? But you're going to go blind!"

"I know."

"Well then, as a medical professional, it's my duty to insist-"

Itachi cut her off. "I don't care."

She gaped at him. "_Nani_?"

"I like the darkness. Besides, there isn't anything I want to see anymore."

Sakura considered this. "I think… that's a little sad."

"Could you put me down, please?" Itachi asked.

There was nothing she could do but comply.

As she got ready for her next shift at the hospital, Sakura reflected that for once, she was glad to go to work.

OOOOOOO

Japanese phrase guide (Chapter 2):

_Neesan_- older sister, also used by children to address young women

_Doshita_ – What's wrong?

_Hai_- yes

_Dou itashi mashite_ - You're welcome

Higurashi- cicada

_Onamae wa_ (_nan desu ka_) – What's your name?

_Nani_- What?

Please review. Arigatou gozaimasu ^^.


	3. love

This chapter has been extensively revised and re-detailed. I hope you like it.

Ch 3: love

Back at the Akatsuki hideout, the other members started to feel restless.

Hidan kicked a chair in frustration. "That shitty Itachi. Where the hell did he go?"

"If I were you, I'd show Itachi a little respect. Or we'll be peeling pieces of you off the wall," Kisame chuckled darkly.

"He probably left because you're always making a racket, un," said Deidara, rolling a ball of clay between his hands.

"You're one to talk, always blowing shit up with your little toys," Hidan retaliated.

"I've actually never blown shit up," Deidara mused. "It might be interesting, un."

"You can indulge in your freaky little hobbies some other time," said Kakuzu. "Right now, we've got to make sure that nothing's happened to Itachi or the leader will be pissed."

Kisame stood and heaved his large sword over his shoulder. "He's my partner. I'll go look for him."

OOOOOOO

Sakura dragged her feet on her way home from the hospital, and it wasn't due to the weight of the groceries she was carrying. No, she was nervous about seeing her houseguest again. She didn't think he liked her very much. If it weren't for his illness, he'd probably have left already.

Immersed in her gloomy thoughts, she didn't notice that he had gotten up to open the door from the inside, and she nearly walked into him. He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her, and she blushed at the warmth of his touch.

"_Sumimasen_, _oniisan_!"

"_Sumimasen_," he said, taking the groceries from her and setting them down in the small kitchen area.

"Are you sure you can't tell me your name?" Sakura asked. "Because calling you _oniisan _is a little…"

"I don't mind."

"Eh?"

"I like it," he explained. "Could you continue calling me that?"

Sakura shook her head. "You're a strange fellow."

She took a daikon from her grocery basket, put it on the counter, and began to chop it into thin slices.

"I can make dinner, if you like," he offered.

Sakura hesitated.

"It's the least I can do."

He seemed to be doing better today, so Sakura handed him the knife and watched him cut the daikon. His hands were steady despite the severe pain he must be experiencing. He seemed like a very strong person. He also appeared more relaxed and communicative than he had been the day before. _Perhaps he's getting used to me_, Sakura thought wryly.

Itachi combined the daikon slices with noodles and shiitake mushrooms and put the mixture on the stove to boil. After the soup had finished cooking, he poured it into two bowls and carried the bowls over to the table. He set one in front of himself and the other in front of Sakura. He watched as she blew on her soup to cool it, inhaling the pleasant aroma with a contented smile. Itachi found it rather amusing to see her salivate over the food he had prepared as she lifted her chopsticks. Itachi was very hungry himself, but he waited politely for Sakura to take the first bite.

"_Oishii_!" she exclaimed.

He gave her a small smile. "I'm glad you like it. I always cook for my partner when we go on missions together."

Sakura gasped. "You're a shinobi? I thought I saw you somewhere before! That must be why! What village are you from? Why aren't you wearing a forehead protector?"

Itachi mentally cursed his mistake.

Sakura mistook his silence for criticism. "_Gomen_. I don't mean to be annoying, but sometimes my mouth runs away with me."

"No…" he said slowly. "You're not annoying. It's just… I'm not a shinobi anymore. It's been a long time since I last embarked on a mission for my village."

"Oh," Sakura said.

After they had eaten their fill, Sakura washed the dishes and Itachi pulled up a chair by the window. He seemed to be concentrating fiercely on something far in the distance.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. And everything. I'm fixing the world in my memory so I will remember what it looks like when I can no longer see," Itachi explained.

"Can I watch it with you?" Sakura asked as she put away the dishes.

She took his silence as permission and pulled up a chair beside him.

Sakura and Itachi watched as a young couple passed by the house. The girl was talking animatedly to the guy. He didn't say anything in return, but his arm curled possessively around her waist.

"They look happy," Itachi remarked.

"I'm a bit jealous," Sakura admitted. "I had someone like that, once. He was a teammate of mine who I loved very much. He left me, though. His name was Uchiha Sasuke."

Itachi was shocked that this woman had been on the same team as his brother, but he carefully schooled his features not to reflect his emotions.

"What about you, _oniisan_?" Sakura asked. "Do you have someone you care about?"

She immediately regretted asking, given his marked reluctance to discuss his personal life. She didn't want the silence to reveal the distance between them.

"_Otouto_," he said, surprising her.

"Oh? You have a little brother? What's his name?"

Itachi said nothing.

Sakura sighed. "_Mataku_. You only answer when you want to."

"It doesn't matter."

"What's with you? Of course it matters."

"It doesn't."

He paused. "My brother hates me."

The look in his eyes was infinitely sad. Sakura couldn't bear it.

"If it's someone you love, I'm sure he doesn't hate you," she assured him.

Itachi smirked, which only served to infuriate her.

"I'm serious! I don't know what happened between you and your brother, but if you work hard, someday you will be able to understand each other."

_If only it were that simple_, Itachi thought. She looked at him expectantly. Once again, she seemed to be waiting for him to comment.

"…_Tabun_," he said cautiously.

Sakura smiled confidently. "_Kanarazu_."

OOOOOOO

Japanese phrase guide (Chapter 3):

_Sumimasen_- Excuse me

Daikon- Japanese radish

_Oishii_- delicious

_Gomen_- sorry (informal)

_Otouto- _younger brother (informal)

_Mataku_- geez

_Tabun- _maybe

_Kanarazu_- definitely


	4. truth

If you like dark smut fics, please read and review my SasuSaku "Anything." It will send shivers down your spine.

Ch 4: truth

Later that night, Sakura returned to the hospital for another grueling shift. The first rays of dawn peeked from behind the sterile white curtains before she was finally relieved. She had just finished setting the leg of a boy with rickets and had straightened to wipe her brow when another medic entered. The medic, a thirty-year-old woman from the hidden rain called Harada Michiko, had the same resigned, exhausted manner that Sakura observed in nearly all her coworkers.

"_Gokurosan_," Michiko-san said, stifling a yawn.

"_Hai. O saki ni_."

Sakura couldn't leave fast enough. She felt as though every second she spent in the dismal place sapped her of energy. She had never experienced anything like it in Konoha, where the villagers were (mostly) healthy and the staff was well rested. It made her question her resolve to be a medic.

Nonetheless, Sakura stopped by the storeroom on her way out to fetch a change of clothes for her guest. Finding clothing that might fit amongst the village cast-offs proved to be quite a challenge, since he was unusually tall. Sakura remembered asking Michiko-san why the men of the hidden cloud were so short when she had first arrived. Michiko said, "Chronic malnutrition and starvation in childhood inhibits growth." Her reply put an end to all further questions Sakura might have had about the hidden cloud.

Sakura eventually found a shirt and a pair of pants that would have to do. As she set off down the hill, she resolved to ask her guest why he had come to such a godforsaken village.

_Poverty leads to war and war leads to poverty. It's an unceasing, unrelenting cycle_, she thought. _And yet, we fight on_.

OOOOOOO

When she arrived at the house, she found him staring out the window, as usual. He looked so peaceful in those moments she hated to disturb him.

"What is it, Sakura-san?" he asked, without taking his eyes from the scenery outside.

She suddenly felt very shy. "_Ano_, I brought a change of clothes for you. I can wash your old ones, if you like."

"_Arigatou_," he said, taking the clothing and going into the next room. His clothes made soft rustling noises as he undressed. She envied the cloth as it rubbed up against his lean, muscular body. Sakura reflected that she'd be able to see that body in all its glory if she put her eye to the crack in the doorframe, then sternly berated herself for even considering it.

_Oh God, I'm turning into Jiraiya-san,_ she thought, shuddering.

A minute later, he opened the door a crack and put his old clothes in a neatly-folded pile for Sakura to wash. As Sakura gathered up the clothing, a worn piece of paper fell out of his pants pocket. Sakura bent over to retrieve it. It was a photograph of his family. Sakura looked at the picture and gasped. The little boy was definitely Sasuke. Which means…"This person is Uchiha Itachi."

No sooner had she come to this dreadful realization than she heard his voice behind her. "What will you do?"

"Eh?" Sakura spun around, startled. Her eyes locked with Itachi's. She had never seen such eyes. They were fierce. Terrible. Punishing. She knew herself to be instantly and completely trapped within his gaze, subject to his every whim. Her legs gave out, and she slid to the floor.

"Now that you know who I am, what will you do?" he persisted.

Sakura was much too terrified to answer.

Itachi blinked, releasing her. With a supreme effort, she wrenched her eyes from his. A lump formed in her throat.

"_Wakarimasen_."

Itachi sat on the floor beside her, moving slowly so as not to break the spell. "Sakura-san, you love Sasuke, don't you?"

"_Hai_."

"So, you should hate me."

Itachi reached around Sakura and drew a kunai from the pouch at her waist. She stiffened, suddenly afraid that he was going to kill her with her own weapon. Instead, he pressed the handle of the kunai into her right hand and curled her fingers around it.

"I killed our parents and destroyed his happiness, forever," Itachi continued. "I am the object of his vengeance. I am the reason why he left you."

He took the hand with the kunai and drew it to his throat, pressing hard enough to draw blood. Sakura bit back a gasp as his fingers painfully crushed hers around the hard, smooth metal. His eyes were intense, but his voice was calm.

"It's fine if you want to kill me. But know that if you try to fight me now, I _will _kill you."

He let go of her hand, but she kept the kunai leveled at his throat. Her hand shook. Tears pooled in her eyes, obscuring her vision. She wondered if this was how Itachi saw the world, through a tear-filled haze.

"_Doshite_?"

Itachi casually knocked her hand to the side and got to his feet. "Because I can't die yet. I still have something I need to do."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to kill Sasuke."

"I don't believe you."

Her words brought him to a halt. Itachi said nothing, but his eyes seemed to demand an answer.

"Because, earlier, you said that your little brother was very important to you," she explained.

"It was a lie."

"I don't think so. I saw the expression in your eyes when you said it. Itachi-san, I think…" She paused for a second to collect her thoughts. "I think that you're an unexpectedly kind person."

Itachi scoffed. "_Baka onna_."

Before she could blink, he appeared behind her and struck her on the back of the head. She gave a little gasp and slumped against his leg. As she felt herself sliding into blackness, Sakura reflected on how similar the Uchiha brothers were. _At least this time, I felt as though my words reached him_.

Itachi carried Sakura into her bedroom and dumped her onto her futon. _I should return to the Akatsuki_, he thought._ I've wasted enough time here._

Itachi slammed the door on his way out. He didn't look back. He told himself that he was glad to be gone, grateful for an excuse to cast away the dormant emotions she had stirred inside of him. Still, a part of him knew that he could never outrun the memories. The thought of her haunted him.

_Haruno Sakura…Can she possibly understand how I feel? _

OOOOOOO

Sakura regained consciousness approximately two hours later. She bolted upright and was nearly overcome by a powerful wave of nausea as the world tilted dizzyingly around her. She lay back down on her futon and considered the situation. She had been completely sincere when she had offered to help Sasuke kill Itachi, and she had been devastated when he had turned her down. But perhaps it had been for the best. Even though she had only known him for two days, Sakura was certain that Itachi was not the monster she had assumed him to be. As illogical as it seemed, Sakura now believed that Itachi had had a good reason to kill the Uchihas. She felt she owed it to both Sasuke and Itachi to discover what the reason was. In order to do that, she would have to go after Itachi and force him to tell her, even if it meant facing him in combat. Sakura slowly got to her feet. _It's too late to back out now_, she thought. _I _will_ learn the truth, even if it kills me_.

Japanese phrase guide (Chapter 4):

_Gokurosan_- Good work

_O saki ni (shisturei shimasu) _- I'm leaving first (said to coworker)

_Ano_ - Excuse me (used to get someone's attention)

_Wakarimasen_ – I don't know/ I don't understand – (used here it means I don't know)

_Doshite_ – Why?

_Baka onna_ – stupid woman

*** IMPORTANT: Oooooooo I need to clarify something! I did NOT mean to suggest that Itachi used Mangekyo Sharingan on Sakura! I meant that part as somewhat of a throwback to her first encounter with Orochimaru in the chuunin exams, where his aura is so menacing she can't even move. Her shock at suddenly discovering his identity, plus the fact that Itachi naturally shifts into sharingan (but not MS) eyes when he feels threatened, plus her instinctive knowledge of the fearsome abilities he _could_ use on her if he so desired immobilize her for a minute. I changed that bit to make it less confusing.


	5. promise

Here is chapter 5. Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Runo44 and Bulla49, who have faithfully reviewed every chapter. And Kin-kun, look! I finally have longer chapters =D.

If possible, I would like someone to put this story on a c2. Scratch that, I would like to shamelessly beg someone to put this story on a c2. I've revised it like 5 times, it must be good enough for one by now.

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I do not own Sakura or Itachi (I wish), but I do own the plot of this fanfic. This chapter is also inspired by James's _The Turn of the Screw_, the scene where the governess makes Miles confess.

I don't know if this is really necessary anymore, but god forbid my favorite fic gets removed because I didn't do a disclaimer.

Content Disclaimer: This chapter contains bits of language and graphic violence. Not enough to justify an M rating though, in my opinion.

OOOOOOO

Ch 5: promise

At first, tracking Itachi had been relatively simple. Most of the villagers remembered him. Itachi was an anomaly. His height, his facial markings, and his air of calm self-assurance, rare among the half-starved villagers, all contributed to his salience. Tonbei-chan had been the most helpful. He was still concerned about the man, bless his little heart.

Unfortunately, the small forest north of the hidden cloud presented Sakura with a more formidable challenge. Itachi had taken to the trees after he had left the village, making him difficult to trace. Several hours later, Sakura began to reconsider her plan. Confronting Itachi was well and good, except it would most likely prove impossible to find Itachi when he didn't want to be found. She was going to have to rely on perseverance and sheer dumb luck.

That's when she saw it. The blood. There wasn't much of it, just a spot here and there on a tree trunk or a branch. The small blotches of blood made a trail through the treetops. Her heart leapt to her throat._ Could it be…?_

Part of her hoped that it was a clue that would lead her to Itachi, but another part of her hated to think that he was bleeding. Itachi or not, she would have no way of knowing unless she traced the blood to its source.

The longer she followed the trail, the more Sakura began to suspect that it would direct her towards her quarry. Due to a recent treaty, the northern forest had become a demilitarized zone, which made it a perfect place to hide. No one entered the forest, save the few men who were able to obtain work as lumberjacks for the construction project. The heavy fighting was confined to the southern border. Besides, if the bleeder's wound was deep, she would have already found a body. She doubted anyone besides Itachi had the fortitude or the folly to ignore a wound for so long.

Sakura heard a soft rustling noise coming from the trees to her right. Keeping her chin pointed straight ahead, she quickly flicked her eyes toward the sound and caught a flash of black cloth. This was serious. Sakura hoped to reach Itachi in time to shield him from his pursuers, or, if need be, to protect _them_ from _him_. Sakura didn't think Itachi would kill with impunity. After all, he'd spared her life. Perhaps he'd needed her healing skills in the beginning, but he'd had no reason to keep her alive after she'd discovered his identity. Still, she couldn't be sure, and her mission included a mandate to protect the village shinobi.

Sakura glimpsed a small figure sitting on the ground and flattened herself against a tree trunk. Definitely _not_ Itachi. Instead, the trail of blood had led to a cloud kunoichi who looked barely old enough to be a genin. A deep gash on the girl's arm provided a likely source for the blood spatter. Sakura barely had time to process this before a shinobi broke through the trees to her right and reached for a shuriken to throw at the girl. No sooner had he touched his weapon than he was cut in half. His blood dyed the girl a brilliant red. She looked even more terrified, if that was possible.

One glance at the man's assailant and Sakura was terrified, too. He was tall, even taller than Itachi. And he was_ blue_. The cloak he wore, black with red clouds, marked him as a member of the Akatsuki.

Kisame looked at the girl and snorted. "_Che_. Fricken waste of time."

He raised his sword.

The girl trembled.

Sakura stepped from behind the tree and threw a kunai at Kisame.

He blocked it easily.

"_Nigete_!" she screamed.

The girl didn't need to be told twice. She fled as fast as her legs could carry her.

Sakura leapt from the tree and moved to block Kisame's path.

Kisame's eyes flicked toward the injured girl and then settled on Sakura.

"Oh? And who might you be?"

"Haruno Sakura."

"I'd get out of the way, if I were you, _Haruno Sakura_," he spat, giving her name a vindictive twist. "See, I'm in a _really_ bad mood. And when I'm in a bad mood, I tend to cut things up."

"I'm sorry, but I'm on a mission to protect the people of the hidden cloud. I can't let you do as you please."

"Then, prepare to die!" he said, slashing at her.

She jumped out of the way just in time. His sword cut through the tree behind her, sending it crashing to the ground.

_He's strong_, she thought. _I'd better retreat for now_.

She took to the trees to escape him, but he sliced through them like butter, laughing as he did so.

He cut down a tree as Sakura landed on a branch. She slipped, but managed to regain her balance. She rolled to the left and darted behind another tree.

He deftly felled the tree, sending it crashing down on Sakura.

"What will you do, _ojou-chan_?" Kisame taunted.

Sakura grabbed the trunk of the tree and hurled it back at him.

Kisame dodged, but not quickly enough to avoid a series of deep cuts across his face from one of the branches.

She glared at him, chest heaving. "I'm not a little girl."

Kisame wasn't laughing anymore. "You shouldn't have done that, bitch. I'm going to fucking kill you!"

His next strike was so forceful that it cleaved the ground in two.

_Glad that didn't connect,_ Sakura thought as she threw herself to the side.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Sakura ran for dear life. Kisame was indefatigable. A wrecking ball that existed to mow down everything in his path. But, his rage blinded him and he lost sight of her.

Once she deemed herself a safe distance away, Sakura hid behind a tree to catch her breath. She suppressed her chakra to the size of a pinprick to eliminate any chance of detection. Meanwhile, Kisame continued his reign of destruction.

_This is bad,_ Sakura thought._ I can't let him destroy all the trees, or the hidden cloud's construction project will be doomed. I have to finish this quickly. _

Of course, Kisame had no such compunction. He briefly turned his back on Sakura as he proceeded to systematically destroy all her possible hiding places.

_This is my chance,_ she thought.

She gathered chakra into her fist and pounced on Kisame from behind.

He dodged.

She whipped around to face him and stumbled, suddenly dizzy. Her head ached from Itachi's blow.

Kisame shifted his weight a bit and swung his leg around in a wide arc.

Sakura barely managed to get her arms up to protect her face before his kick connected with astounding force. The sheer power of it sent her through several trees. Her head struck a tree trunk with a sickening crack. The darkness came on quickly, leaving her helpless. Her last thought was distinctly unladylike.

_Chikushou_.

OOOOOOO

When Itachi came upon them a few minutes later, he found an irate Kisame kicking an unconscious Sakura in the stomach. The left side of his face was crisscrossed with scratches.

When he saw Itachi, Kisame stopped kicking Sakura and held his sleeve to his face to mop up the blood.

"Yo, Itachi."

"What are you doing Kisame?" Itachi asked. Kisame was probably the only one who could have detected the subtle note of reproach in his voice.

Kisame took his hand from his face and stared at Itachi incredulously. "'What am _I _doing?' I was looking for _you_! Where the hell have you been?"

Itachi didn't answer. Instead, he continued to stare at his partner.

"Hey, she attacked me," Kisame said defensively.

Itachi raised his eyebrows.

"Bitch threw a tree at me! She's quite a looker, though," Kisame chuckled, using his sharkskin sword to lift up the hem of Sakura's skirt.

"That isn't necessary," Itachi snapped.

"Are you angry?" Kisame asked, amused.

"No."

Kisame shrugged. "_Maa ii_." He heaved his heavy sword over his shoulder. "Let's go back, Itachi. The others are waiting for us."

"I will in a little while."

Kisame scratched his head. "Eh? That won't do. You seem to be getting worse, so the leader told me to look after you."

Itachi caught Kisame's gaze and partially activated his Sharingan. "You _will_ go back without me."

"Geez, don't get so worked up. You'll die faster that way," Kisame said. He turned around and disappeared into what remained of the woods.

After Kisame left, Itachi knelt down beside Sakura and took her into his arms. He gently felt the back of her head, and his hand came away with blood. He winced.

_I'm sorry, Sakura,_ Itachi thought._ What happened to you was partially my fault_. _You couldn't fight your best because you were still a bit dazed from when I knocked you out_.

Itachi felt around in Sakura's medical pouch until he found a roll of bandages. He wrapped them around her head and used a cold compress to reduce the swelling. Finally, he sent a bit of his chakra into her wound to minimize nerve damage and promote healing.

That done, Itachi proceeded to examine the rest of Sakura's body. Her chest and abdominal area felt tender to the touch. Itachi lifted up her blouse to reveal a colorful array of bruises. A few of her ribs were cracked, but nothing seemed to be broken. Itachi repeated the process he had used to treat her head wound, wrapping bandages around her stomach and then sending chakra into the wound.

Those were the worst of her injuries; her only other wound was an ugly bruise on her arm that nonetheless healed quite cleanly. After he finished treating Sakura, Itachi picked her up and carried her toward a nearby patch of trees. He sat on the grass beside her, drew her head onto his lap, and waited for her to wake.

OOOOOOO

Sakura awoke a few hours later. She immediately tried to sit up, but Itachi laid an arm across her chest to restrain her.

"Careful. You have a concussion."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Itachi-san…? _Doshite_?"

"Because you took care of me."

"Oh."

Itachi helped Sakura sit up and rest her head against his chest. They sat in silence for a bit, while Itachi idly stroked Sakura's hair and surveyed the damage caused by her fight with Kisame. Trees had been uprooted and flung across the forest as if they were pebbles. Itachi could scarcely believe that the woman in his arms had wrought so much destruction. It wasn't often that one encountered a kunoichi as strong and beautiful as she.

"You are truly foolish, little brother," Itachi muttered.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked.

"It's not important." Itachi gently lay Sakura on the ground and got to his feet.

"I have to go. I only stayed to make sure that you were going to be all right."

Sakura pulled herself to a sitting position, wincing at the pain the movement caused. "_Chotto matte kudasai_! I have so many questions to ask you! If you loved Sasuke, genuinely loved him, why would you hurt him like that?"

"I can't answer that."

"Why not?" she burst out. "Don't you want Sasuke to know the truth?"

Itachi scoffed. "What 'truth'?"

"That you love him, and that you had a reason to do what you did! Don't you see? This secret is literally eating you from the inside out! If you tell me, your symptoms will disappear!"

"I can't do that. I decided long ago that I would bear the burden of his hatred. It's the only way I can protect him…"

He froze. He had said too much.

"So that's it," Sakura smiled. "I figured it was something like that."

"Damn you," Itachi whispered. His voice was low and rough.

Sakura was silent.

"You tricked me."

"I had to. You were my patient and I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to cure you."

"I won't tell you any more."

"That's fine. You admitted to me that you want to protect Sasuke-kun. That alone should make you feel better."

He couldn't believe that this _girl_, scarcely more than a child, had reached into his soul and coaxed out one of his deepest, darkest secrets. She had shaken him to the core.

"Are you going back to the Akatsuki?" Sakura asked.

Itachi said nothing. _I'm going to kill Kisame for this_, he thought grimly.

"That's fine, too" Sakura said. She was still smiling, though this time her smile seemed forced. "It's not as though I can stop you. But I want you to promise me one thing."

"_Nani_?"

"Promise me that you won't ever forget your love for Sasuke."

_As if I ever could_.

"…I promise."

A second later, he was gone.

OOOOOOO

Japanese phrase guide (Chapter 5):

_Nigete_- run!

_Chikushou_- damn it!

_Maa ii_ – oh well/suit yourself

_Chotto matte kudasai_- Wait, please!

A/N: I hope I didn't make Kisame _too_ OOC. He has an excuse for the temper though, he'd been looking for Itachi for like a day and a half without getting any sleep xD. Plus, I needed him to be at his evilest because every story needs a good villain.

I'm posting an alternate ending to this story. Let this be ending 1, and the other be ending 2. Vote for whichever you like better.


	6. note to readers

**Note to my readers: **I know I promised a sequel to this story, but I don't think I will be able to deliver. I was able to come up with an idea for the story and I have been working on it, but I hate what I came up with=(.

To make a long story short, Sakura finds Itachi and Kisame and convinces Itachi to sleep with her the night before he has resolved to lose his life to Sasuke. Itachi dies according to plan, but Sakura revives him using her prodigious medical skills to trade her life for Itachi's as Chiyo did for Gaara. As I was writing this, I simply felt it was much too angsty and melodramatic to mesh well with what came before it. Besides, I always hated it when women in fiction kill themselves over a guy, and I realized I was doing the exact same thing. I feel like I was trying to force a sequel that didn't live up to the original, and having seen many horrible Hollywood sequels, I thought it was better not to proceed. If you do like this ending, I'm sorry, but I don't think I will be able to write it. However, I'm posting some of what I've written in a oneshot called "Sakura's Letter" so it won't go to waste. If you like HidaSaku, do read my new fic "Peer to Peer"- that one will be very long and will include quite a few minor ItaSaku moments, which I am writing atm.

Also, if you pm me with an idea for WnY that I feel like I want to write up I might still write it, but I don't know…


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